Magic's defensive woes continue in 123-88 loss to the Raptors

By Josh Robbins, Orlando Sentinel

Glen Davis sat at the end of the Orlando Magic bench Saturday night as he watched a sequence unfold on the other end of the court. The Toronto Raptors' Ed Davis streaked into the paint, received a pass from Jose Calderon and dunked.

No resistance. None at all.

Glen Davis lowered his head and stared at the ground. It felt too painful to watch.

The Magic defense had struggled in its first four games without him. But on Saturday, in Game 5 following Davis' shoulder injury, and with point guards Jameer Nelson and E'Twaun Moore also out hurt, the defense deteriorated from bad to atrocious. The Raptors sank 56 percent of their shots — with far too many baskets occurring on Orlando breakdowns — and walloped the Magic 123-88 at Amway Center.

"We've just got to work at it, work in practice and help each other, talk and just try to teach the young guys the best way we can and just try to get better," said Hedo Turkoglu, who played his first game after he broke his left hand Nov. 2.

"I know it's not going to be easy. We're going to have nights like this. I know sometimes it's frustrating. Nobody likes to lose, but sometimes it's going to happen."

The Magic fell for their fifth consecutive game, matching their longest losing streak this season. What had been one of the NBA's most unlikely success stories — a team playing well after it was forced to trade away its franchise player — has started to unravel.

The Raptors (11-20) crushed the Magic (12-18) so badly that Toronto coach Dwane Casey felt compelled after the game to say, unprompted, that his players didn't try to run up the score. Their shots just kept falling.

It happened almost all game, really.

Toronto hit 20 of its first 32 shot attempts, including nine of its first 10 3-pointers.

The Raptors led 67-47 at halftime — the highest point total for any Magic opponent in a half this season.

"They made shots early, which put us on our heels a little bit," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "From then on, we were trying to figure it out, whether it was changing personnel, changing coverages. They just had the ability to make shots tonight. Just one of those nights."

On the morning of Dec. 19, the Magic were ranked sixth in the NBA in defensive efficiency rating, limiting opponents to 98.8 points per 100 possessions, according to the league's statistical database.

In their first four games without Davis, the Magic allowed 107.0 points allowed per 100 possessions.

Saturday intensified those problems.

Six Raptors players scored in double figures, led by DeMar DeRozan, who had 21 points.

It didn't help that a sore left hip kept Nelson out and a left elbow sprain sidelined Moore.

"We've just got to fight through it, fight through it and stay with it," shooting guard Arron Afflalo said. "It's obviously a tough stretch for us to come back from the short little Christmas break and lose five in a row. We've just got to keep fighting, keep plugging away. The schedule obviously is not going to get any easier."

True.

Home games loom against tougher opponents: the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. Road games will follow against the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers.

The pent-up frustration showed Saturday.

A referee whistled Afflalo for a technical for arguing a non-call with 7:55 left in the third quarter. The ensuing free throw put Toronto ahead 76-55.

In all, Toronto scored 45 of its 123 points on 3-pointers.

"We just attacked and played aggressive," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said.